Darrin Reasby (posthumous) – 35th Annual Black Excellence Awards Honoree

Extraordinary Achievement

The Late Darrin Reasby
Born2Dream Divas in Training

Darrin Reasby (1966-2019) was born in Milwaukee to Juneza Reasby and Professor “Jim Dandy” Williams. A graduate of John Marshall High School, Darrin loved people and had a special passion for graphic arts, cooking and fashion design. He especially enjoyed investing in the lives of young people and helping them realize their potential.

Darrin’s commitment to enriching the lives of young people allowed him to work with hundreds of promising youth over the years. He served as a father figure to a number of young “divas.” in the community, but of utmost importance to him was his relationship to his mother, Juneza. Prior to his death, he acknowledged that he was the man he became because of his mother and that he owed everything to her. She was always Darrin’s number one support and lifeline.

Committed to living a life of service, Darrin valued his family, God, community, business and life. One of the ways Darrin served the community was by mentoring young women with the Born 2 Dream Divas In Training. Born 2 Dream helps educate young women in business and entrepreneurship to prepare them to be the future business leaders of America. Darrin and other volunteers in the program help teach the young women how make money, save it by open a savings account, and give back to the community by supporting a charity of their choice. The Divas chose to raise money to help support the fight against breast cancer.

As a transplant recipient, he was determined to make his donor proud for giving him his heart and a second chance at life. Darrin was also grateful for the exceptional care he received from a father and son superstar cardiothoracic surgeon duo—Drs. Lyle and David Joyce.

His doctors agreed that he would benefit from a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to help his heart continue to pump while he waited for a donor heart. Ventricular assist devices are surgically implanted mechanical pumps. The pump connects to a control unit and battery pack worn outside the body. It can be used as a bridge to transplant — helping a patient survive months or years until a donor heart is available.

While Darrin always loved to bake, it wasn’t until he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure that he was able to turn his passion into a business. After his heart transplant, Darrin was on his feet and cooking after two weeks at home. He threw a party to celebrate his 51st birthday in September 2017, won a local cooking competition and made plans to open a storefront in Milwaukee for his business.

While toward the end of his life, Darrin mentioned that he wanted to move and ‘get out’ of Milwaukee, he wanted his friends and family to know that he wasn’t talking about going to another city to live; he was referring to his heavenly home. On October 19, 2019, with his mother, son, brother, cousins and close friends by his side to bid him farewell, Darrin moved. He departed this earth to take up his citizenship in heaven.